Local radio presenter and mum, Fifi Box, explained how she was nearly stopped from boarding her flight.

The 45-year-old was travelling from Melbourne to Fiji when she was stopped by airport staff.

Staff were concerned because her 3-year-old daughter Daisy’s passport was damp, with some water damage.

She explained on her radio show that they told her they may not be able to board the flight as “Fiji border officials may not accept the passports”.

Fifi said: “It was 5am in the morning and I started to get teary.”

Eventually they were let on their flight – but said there was a risk they would be sent back on arrival.

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Thankfully they made it to Fiji, but Fifi has since warned other people to check their passports before travelling.

She was also told she would have been banned if she was flying to Bali, which has very strict rules.

A number of travellers have found this out the hard way – Bronte was stopped from her flight to Bali from Australia because she was told her photo ID page had some mould on it.

In 2019, Australian football player Sam Kerr was prevented from boarding her Jetstar flight after the airline deemed her passport was too damaged to fly with – despite having minimal wear and tear.

Also that year, a man with a nine-year-old passport described as “slightly damaged” was stopped from boarding a Batik Air flight from Perth on Christmas Day.

Richard and Ann Lane, from Lincolnshire, were forced to miss three weeks of their three-month holiday as they were prevented from entering Bali and Malaysia due to a small hole in one of their passports.

Related story: Australians will need an ETIAS visa waiver to visit Europe from 2023

It isn’t the only way you could be banned from your flight this year. After several years without the ability to travel, some travellers may not realise their passport is approaching its expiration date, and it can take some time to renew.

Many international travel rules have also changed significantly, and continue to do so. For example, there are new passport rules for Brits heading to Europe and the ETIAS visa waiver program will soon come into effect for Australians and New Zealanders travelling to Europe.

Some countries require at least three months validity to be left on your passport from the planned date of entry or departure. There can be confusing idiosyncrasies in each county too. For instance, new rules no longer allow Brits to have passports with more than 10 years left on them.

One woman lost out on her $4,500 dream holiday due to confusion over her passport’s expiry dates.

If you need to renew your passport, it can be done online.

Stay up-to-date with the ever-changing entry requirements at Smart Traveller, and if it’s been a while since you travelled internationally, you can brush up on the travel basics with this handy guide from Smart Traveller.

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A version of this article originally appeared on The Sun. It has been reproduced here with permission.